As the weather gets colder, the debate is heating up in Nebraska over the Keystone XL Pipeline.  Governor Dave Heineman recently called a special session in the state legislature over whether to allow oil giant TransCanada Corporation to extend a pipeline from

Canada to Texas.

While this may sound like the typical case of a large corporation versus a small but outraged group of environmentalists, this case is much more controversial.

If you’re thinking “why should I care about some pipeline?  It doesn’t affect me,” think again. The Keystone XL is something that all Nebraskans should be concerned about, and should work together to try

and stop.

First of all, some background information: the Keystone Pipeline System stretches from Alberta, Canada, through the Midwest all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Its purpose is to provide Canadian crude oil to the U.S. The proposed extension plan, known as Keystone XL, would cut

through Nebraska.

If the extension were to happen, it would have an irrevocable negative effect on many Nebraskans, and even those outside of the state.  Many farmers and ranchers would be forced to give up their land in order to make way for

the pipeline.

The pipeline would also cut through the Sand Hills, one of the state’s largest natural resources, and could destroy some of the resources in the area.

One of the biggest concerns with the Keystone XL in Nebraska is that it will cut through the Ogallala Aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer is a huge water reserve, spread across eight states and providing water for 2 million people in the U.S. If any of the pipelines broke, this could ruin the water reserve, destroying an important water source for many people.

This is a risk that is too big to take, when the threat of an oil spill is one that is all too real.

What if an event similar to that of the BP oil spill were to happen? Then the “I told you so” line would come into play, as thousands of people would panic over where to get

clean drinking water.

Although TransCanada executives claim this won’t happen, the company is still eager to make profits and it will cut corners where it can, meaning that some of the pipeline might not be as safe as

it should be.

While some proponents of the Keystone XL argue that the creation of jobs that comes with the pipelines extension outweigh the environmental concerns, this is not entirely

true either.

When the Keystone Pipeline was first built in South Dakota, TransCanada promised thousands of jobs for

South Dakotans.

But based on the information eventually released by TransCanada, only 282 of the total construction jobs were filled by South Dakota residents, and most of them were low-paying.

Most of the potential jobs provided by Keystone XL are construction jobs, which mean that they will disappear once the pipeline is finished, leaving Nebraskans to deal with the repercussions of another large, environmentally unsafe corporation’s actions.

TransCanada will say whatever it can in order to get this pipeline approved. Although it says that this pipeline will create thousands of jobs, we don’t know if that’s true. It also says that it will not have a negative impact on the environment, but we don’t know if

that’s true either.

Since we cannot be certain of any of the benefits that could come with the pipeline, it should not be built along the proposed site. The potentially harmful impact on thousands of people’s lives is too high of a price to pay.